Bro, this is some bull spit.

Death's bones clattered as he ran alongside a massive red and yellow striped tent. His bad to the bone shirt was absolutely ruined, with over a dozen holes peppered through it. He looked down as he ran and held pinched the fabric of the shirt as he held it out in front of him.

Man, this shirt was really awesome too.

"Ha...ha...ha...ha."

Awe come on! Death groaned. Can't I get like a moment's peace? I'm not used to all of this running and..."

Skkkrrrtttt.

A knife pierced through the tent and slid into his shirt. It rattled slightly against his rib cage as it settled where his heart would have been if he was anything more than a skeleton.

Really? He groaned. Come on man. Now you're just being petty.

----------------------------------------

"I don't...maybe this is an actually good gift."

"Ted, perhaps you should reserve your judgement until after we have fully inspected this place," suggested Sid.

The six of them had gone through the clown's mouth and came out the other side. Here the fog was still around, but much thinner. Around them were small tents along the side of a clear thoroughfare. A path that branched out from where they were into several different directions. In the distance, tall metal spires with faded paint could be seen. And the air was full of strange smells, but most were buried under the smell of frying dough.

"But that smell." Ted took in a deep breath through his nose and let out a satisfied sigh. "It's like juicy hamburgers and smoky barbecue are fighting against greasy elephant ears covered in cinnamon sugar and wait..." He closed his eyes as he sniffed again, and a fresh wave of nostalgia hit him. "Scones with blackberry jam? That's it! It smells just like the state fair!"

"Elephant ears? Fair?" asked Trizel as he looked around. "All I can smell is the scent of roasted meat and hot spiced wine."

"What do you mean? It smells like strong vanilla, and fresh pastries," cooed Narissa with a smile as she closed her eyes.

"Curious, I don't seem to recognize any smells," pondered Sid aloud.

"Bawk," Nugget said as she slowly shook her head.

"Uhh...no more brimstone biscuits for me mom," mumbled Og'drimun as his eyes remained firmly shut. "I'm too full."

"Let us take a step back," suggested Sid. "It seems you all smell different things that are appealing to you."

Trizel and Ted kept their eyes closed as they happily sniffed the air.

Narissa let out a sigh. "Yeah, I see. You think it's some kind of predator luring prey into a trap?"

"We do not know for sure, but it seems safe to say we should be wary at the very least," nodded Sid.

Ted could hear Sid's warning, but it felt so far away. The smells continued to dance through his mind as they poured in his nose. It all smelled so good, and it made him feel like a child again. Back when he had far fewer worries and didn't understand the odd feeling of dread that sat heavy in his guts. It was still there, sure but he didn't understand it as well, so it didn't seem like as much of a problem.

Trizel kept his eyes closed as well as he let out a contented sigh. "Everything here. Can't you see? It must be a gift. There are some things in life you cannot fake, and the smells of this festival. Why, they are absolutely exquisite."

Sid shook his head. "Smells and feelings can easily be deceived if one knows the right techniques, and has the proper technology. Your reluctance to see through this only reinforces my concerns Trizel."

Sid's words seemed to get muffled more and more for Ted. All he could focus on was all the wondrous smells and other sounds that began to fill his ears. There was a sound of crowds, of a million small conversations being held just out of earshot. Then above it all was the laughter. Genuine, enthusiastic laughter was ringing out behind the crowds, and he felt a pull to run to it. To join in whatever was so fun.

THWACK!

Ted grabbed the top of his head as he winced. "Ah, what was that for?"

Narissa swung the unconscious Og'drimun around on his fabric as she smiled. "Oh good, it worked."

"You were not sure striking him with the demon would work?" Queried Sid.

Narissa shrugged. "Can't say I did. Just had a good feeling about it."

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Ted rubbed the top of his head. "What's going on? Why'd it get so quiet all of a sudden?"

Narissa swung the tiny demon up in the air, and down onto Trizel's head. With another loud thwack, the giant shook his head.

"Hmm? Everything smells dulled again, like it is being filtered before reaching my nose," Trizel said as he glanced around again.

"It seems something is trying to lure us all deeper inside," suggested Narissa.

Ted rubbed his head and could swear he felt a bump forming. "That's bad for us then."

"Hmm? Why is that?" Narissa asked.

"Because we've got to check this entire place out." Ted explained as he glanced up towards the metal spires. "We can't leave some unknown threat on our doorstep alone. We need to know if we have to do anything to protect ourselves. Like how Sid designed those flood barriers to protect The Oasis."

"Oh right," Narissa sighed. "I just figured that Sid was so bright that he could tell just what we needed from a quick glance like this."

"I can make many assumptions from what we are seeing, but they could prove disastrously wrong." Explained Sid.

"Well, seeing as how I seemed to have been enchanted so easily," mumbled Trizel. "I do not know if further encroaching on this beast's territory is wise."

Sid shook his head. "I estimate my assumptions have a thirteen point six nine percent chance of being correct." Sid looked back at the entrance they were standing just in front of, and then out towards the rest of the mysterious tents set up along the various pathways. "There is just so little we have actually seen of this place."

"I don't..."

"Step right up! Step right up! Test your luck in a game of unparalleled skill!" A woman's voice called out to them, and they saw a hand waving to them from inside a nearby tent.

Ted checked that the rope around his waist was secure and led the way. The group stepped in front of the tent and looked inside. There was a woman inside with a small cane. She had a flat straw hat covering her bright red hair in two long braided pigtails. She was in a pinstripe shirt with suspenders, and had a big grin on her face with freckles speckled all over her skin.

Behind her was a table covered in milk bottle stacked up like a pyramid. Hanging from the ceiling were all manner of plushy dolls, and a few wooden baubles.

"Well we'll! What have we here?" She leaned forward with a fox like grin as she eyed Ted up and down. "You must be quite the troupe, eh? Come down to inspect the competition did you?"

Ted blinked. "I don't. Wait, let's start over." He cleared his throat as she raised an eyebrow. Ted gave her the basics of their names and who they were.

She nodded her head. "Well I don't know anything about all that, but..." She smirked and turned to the bottles set up behind her. "You look like you have a pretty good arm on you! Why not try your luck? Three balls per try, and if you can knock them all down, you'll win a prize!"

"I do not think we have the time to compete," interjected Sid.

"Yeah, could you just tell us what's going on with this place?" Added a weary Narissa.

The woman smiled. "Aha! I see you are all dying to compete." She lifted up her hands in defeat. "Ah, fine. You've twisted my arm."

She crouched down under the counter and pulled out three large baseballs that seemed well over a hundred years old. She set them down and smirked. "If you manage to knock down all three stacks with three balls, I'll tell you everything you want to know."

"So you know everything that's going on here?" queried Sid.

The woman just smiled and shrugged her shoulders as she looked down at the balls. "First one's free."

Trizel grumbled as he stormed up to the front of the stall. He loomed over her and leaned down as he stared into her eyes. "Perhaps you should tell us what we want to know now. There is no need for these kinds of childish games."

"Hey, it's fine. I get it. Not everyone has a strong enough arm for this." She shrugged. "And you don't want to embarrass yourself in front of your friends."

"That's not!" Sputtered Trizel as her words seemed to catch him off guard.

She held up her hands, as if in defeat again, and shook her head. "Hey, no need to worry about me pal. I've known plenty of big guys that couldn't throw as hard as a little girl."

Trizel grit his teeth as he grabbed the ball in his hand. "Prepare to eat your words."

Trizel pulled the ball back as far as he could, and then flung it with all his might towards the furthest left stack. His aim was true and his throw was strong. Yet, it just bounced off the milk bottles and onto the floor, without displacing a single one.

"Oh, hard luck pal. Seems you didn't quite have enough oomf to knock them over." She shrugged her shoulders.

Trizel's jaw hung down in disbelief. "There is no way that is possible! Just what are those things made of?"

The woman chuckled. "Well, just good old fashioned glass of course! I understand blaming your failures on others, but when you grow up, you should learn to take responsibility and acknowledge your own failings."

Sid raised a finger as he said, "Trizel, perhaps we should..."

Trizel grabbed the last two baseballs as he interrupted Sid. "I'm just getting started."

Narissa covered her mouth to hold a giggle as Trizel started to let out a low roar. It slowly rose in intensity as the air around him seemed to grow heavier and heavier. He held his arms out in front of his body and slowly pulled them back over his head. Slowly his arms kept going back further and further. As they moved beyond normal human limits of flexibility, his muscles bulged and blew apart his sleeves.

"Twin! Lion! Beheading!" He roared as his arms snapped in front of him like an over stretched rubberband.

The two baseballs rocketed out of his hands and twisted around each other like a pair of black holes spinning ever closer to each other. Then came the moment of impact. The two balls collided with each other at the same time as they hit the middle stack of bottles.

There was no fire, there was no noise, but an explosion force ripped out from the bottles, breaking the sound barrier as wind rushed away from the impact as fast as it could. The woman in the stall put a hand on her hat as the force threatened to blow it, and her, completely away.

Sid planted his feet and grabbed onto the rope as only he and Trizel seems to be able to hold their ground in the wake of the blast. After the brief silence came the immense noise. It sounded almost like a single clap, but with the volume turned up as high as it would go.

As the dust settled, Trizel was panting but had a big smile on his face. "There, that should..."

And as Trizel's face drooped, the girl tsk'd. She wiped the dust from her clothing as she shook her head. "Hard luck."

But, the top bottle of the otherwise undisturbed pyramid was shaking. Then, it tumbled forward and onto the ground.

"Hah!" Trizel roared as he pointed at the bottle. "I have knocked one over!"

"Impressive." She smirked. "Or it would be if you weren't supposed to knock the entire thing down."

Trizel's face started to turn red with fury as he clenched his first.

"Alright, alright. Since this guy hogged your three chances, I'll let one of you throw a single ball yourselves." She leaned down and pulled out another ball and tossed it up in the air. "I'll even sweeten the deal. How about, I tell you something important you can knock over just one of these stacks with this single ball? Now it won't be everything, but I'm sure you'll appreciate it."

Her eyes scanned the lot of them and settled on Ted. "You've tried bulk, but spirit is more important than raw size...you," she said as she pointed a finger at him.

Ted was still a little shocked by Trizel's last throw and didn't hear what she said. He tried to stop the ringing in his ear. It felt like his ear needed to pop, but far worse than he had ever experienced before. So when he noticed her pointing at him, he just waved back at her. She tossed the ball to him, and he tried to catch it, but it ended up just hitting his chest and falling onto the ground. He rubbed the spot it hit, as it stung a bit, and then he knelt down and picked up the ball.

Ted could see her saying something, but it sounded muffled. "What?" He asked as he walked up and put the ball back down on the booth's counter.

The woman flicked something towards Ted's open mouth as he spoke. Everyone, except for her, looked rather surprised by this. With Nugget and Trizel taking a somewhat aggressive stance against her. But, then Ted started to chew. It was a fruity gum. Then, his ears almost felt immediate relief as he could finally make out her saying, "Better?"

Ted nodded, and she picked up the baseball and put it in Ted's hand. "Alright then. This is your last free shot. You're troupe is relying on you."

"Wait, what?" Murmured Ted as he looked around.

Trizel looked incredibly frustrated, while Sid just nodded at him, and Narissa shrugged. "Ba-bawk," were the sage words from Nugget.

"Just give it your best shot sport," she smiled from inside the booth.

Trizel snorted. "Yes. Good luck. I am afraid those bottles could hold off my entire army on their own."

Ted gulped. This was it, they were all relying on him. Somehow, he had to do what Trizel couldn't. Darn it, he wasn't any good at these kinds of games. His arm was shaking slightly as he pulled it back and with a "here goes nothing," he lobbed the ball forward.

As the ball soared through the air, underneath the booth's counter, the girl lifted her foot off of a foot pedal and held it above a second one. Ted's throw was too low, but as it bumped against the table the milk bottles were stacked on, she pressed her foot down on the pedal, and one by one, the milk bottles all collapsed.

Trizel's mouth hung open as the girl clapped her hands together. "Oho! Looks like we have a winner! Finally a man who can throw a measly baseball harder than a little girl. And now for your prize."

She leaned forward towards Ted as Trizel sunk his head into his hand and Narissa sniggered behind them. "My name is Tallulah, and this place? Well buddy, if I can be honest with ya, I just work here."